Guided Walk - Turnpikes, Canal and Railways

Before the middle of the 18th Century getting to and from Tavistock, as in many other parts of Devon, would have been extraordinary difficult – having to ride on horseback or in cart or carriage or transporting good by packhorse over roads muddy, rutted and badly maintained by each parish on the route. In 1762 the Tavistock Turnpike Trust was formed in order to maintain the major routes which the town was dependent upon and recoup the costs by charging tolls to use the roads. And so many Tollhouses sprung up around the town many of which are still here today, but now serving as private dwellings. However, even these roads were of little help in transporting very heavy and bulky goods like limestone and coal needed for the many limekilns in the district or to transport out the many tons of mineral ores that were locally mined. And so between 1803 and 1817 the Tavistock Canal was dug and tunnelled to bring these bulky goods to and from the river port of Morwellham on the Tamar. Finally the railway put in its first appearance in 1859 to supersede the canal and eventually put it out of business in 1873. By 1890 Tavistock had two railway stations. It is ironical then that in the 1960’s Tavistock lost both of those, put out of business by the roads making a comeback, now well maintained and servants of the internal combustion engine

Timings & Tours

Thursday 12 September:

10.00 - 12.00

Location & directions

Duke of Bedford statue, The Guildhall, Guildhall Square, Abbey Place, Tavistock, Devon, PL19 0FW

Contact on day:

Tony Vigars

Telephone number:

+447598269559

Booking information

Pre-booking requirement:

Pre-booking not required

Accessibility details

The walk will last about 2 hours and cover a distance of just over 2 miles. It is mainly along level paths, but includes one steep hill and descent

Additional information

Est. tour duration:

2 hour(s)

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